Water Unites

The Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP)
One of the main activities of IFAS is the Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP). This is the
main long-term action program in the region in the field of sustainable development, in
particular for the sustainable management of water resources and related aspects. The
program includes national and regional projects. It has its roots in the first UNEP-Soviet
diagnostic study of the Aral Sea that was conducted in 1988-1991 in collaboration with
the Soviet government. In 1992, the preparation of the ASBP began, and after ICAS and
IFAS were founded in 1993, the program was officially launched as a joint effort of the
World Bank, UNDP and UNEP. Its main goals were:
1. Stabilizing the environment in the Aral Sea Basin;
2. Restoring the disaster zone around the Sea;
3. Improving management of transboundary waters in the basin;
4. Developing the capacity of the regional organizations to plan and implement the
program.
It developed into the most comprehensive international program addressing the Aral
Sea crisis and enjoyed the active support and involvement of numerous multilateral and
bilateral donors. These included the Asian Development Bank, UNESCO, the European
Union and the governments of the USA, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland and others.
In the first project phase, $280 million in credits and $48 million in grants were
allocated.
In 2002, a second phase called ASBP-2 was developed after the five heads of state
met in Dushanbe on 6 October 2002. IFAS planned to tackle a wide range of environmental,
socioeconomic, water management and institutional problems for the period
2003-2010. According to EC IFAS, the contribution from the IFAS member states to the
implementation of activities was over $1 billion, with additional financial support from
donors, including UNDP, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, USAID, as well
as the governments of Switzerland, Japan, Finland, Norway and others.
The challenges of effective regional water cooperation
IFAS is the only regional organization in which all five Central Asian states are members.
It is proof that shared water resources can foster cooperation. In contrast to many
other regional Central Asian organizations, IFAS and its subordinated bodies have functioned
for 20 years. It is well understood in the region that programs and agreements did
not always meet the expectations of the member countries and the donor community.
This is not surprising giving the conditions under which the regional water cooperation
had to evolve in Central Asia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Central Asian
countries had to develop new structures, institutions and policies to govern the formerly
Moscow-managed natural resources in a situation of economic and political collapse
and without the necessary technical, financial, administrative and political capacities at
IFAS: A history of post-Soviet cooperation 49